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Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis will not be fighting in the co-main event of UFC 299, slated for March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Earlier today, the former interim UFC lightweight champion posted on X:
"My fights off but still working 👊"
Check out Dustin Poirier's tweet below:
As per a recent update by combat sports journalist Brett Okamoto, 'The Diamond' withdrew from his upcoming fight due to contractual issues. Okamoto tweeted:
"Dustin Poirier expands on his recent 'fights off' tweet (against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299) to me via text ... 'There was no contractual agreement before the fight was announced, and we couldn't come to terms.'"
Check out Brett Okamoto's X post below:
Fans responded to Poirier's fight cancellation with a variety of reactions.
One fan wrote:
"Classic Dana announcing fights without it being signed. 😂"
Another wrote:
"Dana needs to be quartered"
Check out some more reactions below:
"This is such bad look on the UFC."
"Typical Poirier pulling out of fights and trying to make it seem like the other guy's fault."
"Definitely getting rebooked for other opponents"
"Why does the UFC always announce fights before they are actually signed lol"
'The Diamond' signed a new eight-fight contract with the UFC before his consecutive fights with Conor McGregor. As per the terms of that agreement, Poirier has fought five times, including a title bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 in December 2021, along with matches against Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje.
If the 35-year-old Louisiana native hasn't signed a new contract since then, he would still have three fights left on his previous deal. It seems that negotiations for the fight did not reach a conclusion, and now Poirier has no intention of facing the 'God of War' at UFC 299. However, the UFC has yet to release any official statement on this matter.
